


Owls mate for life

by old_fashioned_gal



Category: Watchmen - All Media Types
Genre: Alzheimer's Disease, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Old Age, Sad, h/c
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-01
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-29 10:14:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5123801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/old_fashioned_gal/pseuds/old_fashioned_gal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan and Walter in their old age.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Owls mate for life

**Author's Note:**

> These days I spend a lot of time helping to care for a relative with Alzheimer's and after getting home from there today this wrote itself pretty quickly. It's my way of venting and also trying to understand what it might be like to live with it. 
> 
> What Adrian is doing here I don't know. It could be interpreted as an AU with no giant squids or nukes or maybe Dan has just forgiven him out of necessity. Up to you.

“Seriously man, you have to stop doing this. That was the fifth carer in four months.”

“Don’t need a carer, Daniel”

“Yes you do! I can’t be around twenty four seven and the last time I left you here alone you almost burnt the house down!”

Rorschach was silent because that didn’t make any sense at all. Why would he burn Daniel’s house down? But when Daniel got worked up like this it was best just to let him, well, burn himself out. Rorschach smiled at the pun and Daniel snapped “There’s no need to look so damn pleased with yourself! The poor guy’s going to be helpless for weeks and what if he presses charges? Is it really too much to ask that when a carer comes to the house you don’t break all their fingers?”

Something about the idea of broken fingers registered a flash of concern in Rorschach’s mind. He looked at Daniel’s fingers and then at his own but they were all fine. Reassured that they were talking about some Knot Top that Daniel was being needlessly protective over, Rorschach growled “Best way to get information, Daniel.”

“Back in the day, arguably.” Daniel stood up to clear the dishes. “But this was your carer.” Daniel began to unload the dishwasher to make room for the next load. Rorschach went to the pantry and returned with a can of spaghetti Os. He wasn’t particularly hungry but he felt he might as well take advantage of Daniel’s stockpile while he was here.

“You don’t need that, buddy; we’ve just eaten.”

Rorschach ignored him and opened the can. Daniel sighed and took it off him, saying “I’ll put it in the fridge then”

“Was about to eat that Daniel.”

“We’ve just had dinner, buddy. Look at the note on the pantry door.”

Rorschach read the note aloud. “‘Don’t eat anything unless you are really hungry’ Not good to wait until you’re really hungry, Daniel. Never know when…” he stopped himself because he didn’t want to tell Daniel about the days he couldn’t afford to eat. It would only make him worry or, worse, pity him.

Daniel emptied a can of spaghetti Os into a bowl and put it in the fridge, then carried on emptying the dishwasher. “I just don’t want you to make yourself sick, Walter. It’s really bad for your diabetes, you eating all the time like this.”

“Not diabetic Daniel. Confusing me with someone.”

“Check the bracelet, man.”

Rorschach was surprised to find he was wearing a simple gold bracelet. It was engraved with the words _I am diabetic_. It clearly wasn’t his, so he took it off and put it on the table.

Daniel shifted his weight awkwardly to reach for the plates at the bottom of the dishwasher. Rorschach stood up. “Should let me do that Daniel. Not good for your hip to be bending like that.”

“Thanks” Daniel sat down and lifted a gold bracelet from the table top. A mixture of amusement and frustration flickered in his expression, though if he insisted on buying jewellery for himself, Rorschach wasn’t surprised he laughed at himself or got frustrated. It certainly made Rorschach frustrated. He lifted a plate from the dishwasher and wiped it with a dishcloth, taking his time so that he wouldn’t have to admit to Daniel that he’d forgotten where they kept the plates. Daniel saw right through that one. “Check the labels, Walter.”

Rorschach looked around. He made a dismissive noise when he saw the state of Daniel’s kitchen. His partner must have been really bored to have labelled all his cupboards but it did make clearing the dishwasher easier. He loaded the plates into the cupboard labelled “plates” and the saucepans into the one labelled “saucepans”. The one labelled “mugs” stopped him short. Why would they keep mug shots in the kitchen? Then he remembered the other meaning of the word and looked in the dishwasher but he couldn’t see any mugs or any cups. The closest thing was a wine glass.

The man at the kitchen table watched him, smiling. He was obviously some relative of Daniel’s – the resemblance was striking, especially the brown eyes. Possibly his father, although grandfather was more likely. Daniel wasn’t old enough for it to be likely his father was this man’s age. The old man asked, “Are you going to put that away, buddy?”

He even said “buddy” like Daniel. Maybe that was where Daniel got it from. Rorschach looked down at where the man was gesturing and saw he was holding a wine glass though he couldn’t think why. He was certain he didn’t drink. He put it away in a cupboard labelled “glasses”. His partner must have been really bored to have labelled all his cupboards.

“So” Daniel asked, “Is that agreed? No more breaking fingers? Because much as I love you, Walter, I don’t want to have to take you to my book group every Wednesday. Sieves hang up over there.”

Rorschach hung up the sieve where Daniel was pointing. It wasn’t very fair of Daniel to expect him to know where everything went when he’d only been here a handful of times, but he didn’t complain since they were already late for patrol. He put the bowls away in the cupboard labelled “bowls” and caught sight of the cupboard labelled “glasses”. It seemed a stupid place for Daniel to keep his glasses. Usually they hung on a cord around his neck. The plates went away in the cupboard labelled “plates” but then he realised that what he had in his hand wasn’t a plate at all but a knife.

The man at Daniel’s table stood up. “Here, I’ll do that – you’re tired. Why don’t you go through to the living room?”

Rorschach wasn’t about to be told what to do by a stranger so he sat down at the table pointedly, keeping a suspicious eye on the man who reached into Daniel’s dishwasher and said, absently, “I think you’d enjoy _The Woman in White_ , though. If you did come to book group I mean.”

Rorschach wasn’t sure why Daniel was talking about Wilkie Collins novels but the idea of someone dressed in white jogged a memory. “Daniel – meant to tell you! There was an intruder in the house this morning! Asian man, aged thirty or so, white uniform…” He trailed off when he noticed the way Daniel’s shoulders had tensed. Daniel seemed to count under his breath for a moment before he ground out, “That was the carer, Walter. ‘Was’ being the appropriate tense.” He bent awkwardly to get something out of the dishwasher and added more casually, “You’re coming with me to book group next Wednesday by the way.”

Rorschach wasn’t sure what Daniel meant but apparently he had until next Wednesday to find out. He hoped he hadn’t fallen asleep during a post patrol planning session. Work had been demanding lately and he felt exhausted. What he needed was an energy boost while Daniel messed about _not_ getting ready. He went to the pantry and returned to the table with a can of beans which the elderly man by the dishwasher intercepted. “You don’t need that Walter; we’ve just eaten.”

Rorschach was about to ask him who he was and how he knew his name when something clicked into place – it was Hollis. He was the only elderly man who Daniel would have around just before patrol. He hoped Daniel would turn up soon and save him from the ministrations of his mentor.

The doorbell rang. Daniel started forward but his hip made him shaky on winter evenings and Rorschach could still move with a speed many forty years olds would envy. He unlocked the front door before Daniel had reached the kitchen doorway.

Standing on the front stoop was Adrian Veidt, one hand on his elegant silver topped walking cane and the other on the head of his sky blue lioness. Rorschach felt it said a lot about Veidt that the sky blue lioness wasn’t the most ridiculous thing about the scene. “Veidt. Monocle?”

“Hello Walter. Yes, let’s get the obligatory monocle conversation out the way, shall we?” Veidt pushed past Rorschach and into the house, shrugging off his coat. “I’ve worn it everyday for five years and for the past six months you’ve commented on it every time you’ve seen me. For someone who claims to despise the way I dress, you certainly take a strong interest in the subject.”

“ _Monocle_ , Veidt. Makes you look like a super villain.”

“Yes so you’ve said. How are you, anyway? Recovered from your fright?”

Rorschach didn’t know what on earth he was talking about but he didn’t need to, to give an honest answer. “Wasn’t frightened”

At that moment Daniel appeared in the hallway and Rorschach felt a pang – when had Daniel become so frail? The other man, the one with the ridiculous monocle, greeted him warmly. “Dan! You don’t need to worry about anything – he was very upset at first but with a little reasoning and a little unofficial compensation he agreed it was for the best for everyone if he didn’t press charges.”

“Oh Adrian, thank you! How much do we owe you?”

“Oh it was nothing, really…” The other man’s voice trailed off as he and Daniel went into the kitchen, leaving only the blue beast. Rorschach busied himself locking and relocking the front door for the sake of something to do.

He was vaguely aware that Daniel was angry with him and supposed it might be more broken things. Recently, broken objects had started to appear around the house – pens, photo frames, lamps, all taken carefully apart and left scattered about. Daniel always seemed to insist it was Walter who was doing it, but Walter wasn’t sure. Just in case though, he locked and relocked the door to occupy himself rather than fiddle with anything inside the house. Daniel couldn’t be angry with him for locking the door. That was just a sensible security precaution.

There was a noise in the building behind him and he turned to investigate, sliding the bolt on the door firmly into place one last time. He wasn’t sure why he’d locked the door, if he was keeping something out or keeping something in. He couldn’t recall why he’d come here anyway– possibly he hadn’t been sleeping well lately. But he was sure that if he looked around clues would present themselves. For example, he could tell whoever used this building had too much time on their hands because they’d labelled the bathroom “bathroom” and the living room “living room”.

Inside the living room was a gigantic bright blue stuffed toy. Probably one of his mother’s friends had won it for her at the funfair. A few of them did that, they brought her gifts, but Walter wasn’t allowed to touch them. This one though, was so oversized and such an incredible colour that he couldn’t resist. He reached out a tentative hand and jumped back when the thing _moved_. There was a moment of mindless horror before he realised it was Alexandria. He let out a short laugh and petted her ears. “Scared me. Don’t tell Veidt. I’d never hear the end of it.”

If Alexandria was here, Veidt was here somewhere too. Wherever here was. Rorschach looked around and walked over to a desk on the far side of the room. The drawers were locked but that was no problem. He worked on them for a few minutes, Bubastis eventually coming over to rub her big head against his side. She was blue. Veidt must have dyed her. Ridiculous. He patted her head sympathetically because it wasn’t her fault her creator was an egotistical peacock who Rorschach was certain could have been a super villain in only marginally different circumstances.

The drawer turned out to be full of medical records, financial information and insurance papers, all topped off with a note in Daniel’s handwriting that read: _Very VERY important papers – Walter if you have picked the lock again, do NOT burn these, no matter how angry you are. Ps. If there is a fire in the room get out of the building and call 911._ “Hurm. Partner has no faith in me” he confided to Alexandria, “Seems to think I’m a pyromaniac.”

A second, more complicated lock gave to reveal a jackpot of the cookies Daniel had taken to hiding around the house after he seemed to have stopped sharing them. Walter gave two to Bubastis to comfort her for the unfortunate dye job and ate two himself. Then he gave two to Bubastis because it was only fair and she probably needed cheering up after being dyed blue. He wiped her drool from his hand on his clothing and realised that he was wearing one of Daniel’s sweaters. That wasn’t right at all so he peeled it off, then the shirt and undershirt since he wasn’t sure they were his either and it was probably time to get ready for bed anyway. He was tired.

He sat down on the couch and Alexandria jumped up beside him. He petted her with a fed up sigh – glad as he was to see her, if she was here, it meant that the infuriating blonde man was around somewhere too. He probably owned her. She even had a ring of darker fur around one eye to match the ridiculous monocle. She was still young, all long legs and big not-quite-grown-into paws. He let her gnaw his hand affectionately and rubbed her belly. He liked it when Alexandria came over. She never pitied him or patronised him or felt it necessary to warn him against setting fire to the house. He noticed a strange object under one of her oversized paws and fished it out.

It looked like a cordless phone but he was pretty sure it wasn’t. Possibly one of Nite Owl’s new gadgets. Unlikely it was dangerous if he’d left it unattended on the soft bench thing in the living room but Rorschach was still careful to point it away from himself and Bubastis when he pressed a button experimentally. The TV came on. A boxing match was showing. Rorschach relaxed and settled deeper into the couch to watch.

Two men circled one another, fists raised. Around them a crowd bayed and egged them on and a disembodied voice droned, describing a fight that Rorschach could understand perfectly well for himself. He watched carefully. They kept lunging in to each other, trading punches and then backing off and circling, neither ready to deliver the knock-out blow just yet. Something about their circling reminded him of two dogs fighting over a bone and for some reason that thought made him shiver.

He started to scan the faces in the crowd but he couldn’t see her. Which wasn’t surprising really because who’d take a little girl to a boxing match?

The two men fighting were going to have Daniel’s furniture over in a moment, if he didn’t break them up.

Rorschach stood up just as two other men started speaking in the hallway, their footsteps moving closer. This was probably who he was here to investigate so he sat back down and listened to their conversation, trying to block out the sound of the fight.

“Well if the decline is slowing” one of them was saying, “Then that’s great news, isn’t it?”

“Yeah” the second man sounded tired. “But then, there was only so much worse it could get.”

“At least he knows who you are, Dan.”

“He knows my name, most of the time. That’s not the same as knowing who I am.”

“He knows you’re a safe person.”

“Yeah. I guess that’s true. But I just keep thinking how much worse it’s gonna get. It’ll be hell for him if all he can remember is his childhood.”

“We don’t know it will come to that. There’s a lot we don’t know about this condition and a lot of people never reach that stage. You know that.”

“I guess.” The man called Dan sounded like he was going for a brave smile and falling short.

“You just need to focus on the here and now, Dan. You’re doing a good job. But don’t be a martyr to it. Ask for help when you need it – you know I’m just a phone call away and I’m sure Laurie would say the same.”

“I know. Thanks for that. And thanks in advance for next Wednesday.”

“Oh, we’ll have fun!”

“Huh…yeah. We’ll let’s –” The door swung open and the two men stood in the doorway staring at Rorschach. One was obviously a criminal but the other, an old man with glasses and a benign expression, was probably just misled. The old man’s face crumpled at the sight of Rorschach. “Jeez!” he exclaimed, “You must be freezing! Put your clothes back on!”

Rorschach was surprised to discover he was topless. He must have been changing before getting into the ring. It didn’t explain why his chest hair had gone grey, though, or that his muscles had eroded to bare skinniness. While he stared down at himself in shock, the old man fetched a bundle of clothing from the floor. He looked faintly horrified when he shook an empty packet of cookies from it. “Here…”

Rorschach wasn’t sure why this man presumed he could offer him clothes but his intentions seemed harmless and it was cold, so he accepted the undershirt, the shirt and one of Daniel’s sweaters. How had this man gotten one of Daniel’s sweaters?

The other man, the one with the ridiculous monocle, was staring at the TV thoughtfully. “Boxing?”

“Yeah” The old man sat down beside Rorschach with a slightly pained movement. Rorschach could tell his right hip was tender. “I have it playing all the time so it’s only a button away if he gets agitated.”

“And it really makes him less agitated?”

“Believe it or not. Although there was a memorable time when you thought the boxers were actually in the room, wasn’t there, buddy?” The old man grinned at Rorschach. Rorschach gave him a blank look.

“Well with that in mind” said Veidt, “I don’t think we’ll be watching any on Wednesday.”

“Nature documentaries are good too. And film noirs – he can’t follow them but he enjoys the general atmosphere, don’t you, Walter?” The old man smiled at Rorschach. Rorschach gave him a blank look.

“Duly noted. Well, I’ll see you on Wednesday, Dan. Goodnight, Walter.”

“Monocle Veidt? Makes you look like a super villain.”

“So I’ve been told. Come, Alexandria.” Veidt swept out of the room with his huge blue cat in tow.

The man on the couch turned to Walter. For a horrible moment, Walter thought he was one of his mother’s friends but his smile was too reassuring for that. “How are you, buddy? Not still cold?”

Rorschach studied his face for any familiarity and found none. “Dan?”

The old man’s expression wavered. “Yeah. That’s me.”

“Short for Daniel?”

“Yes.”

“I knew a Daniel once. A good friend.”

“Oh…okay, I’ll…I’ll just be a second, okay buddy?” The man heaved himself up and staggered off. He went past the front door without locking it, even though someone had just left by it. Walter went over and slid all the bolts back into place. You could never be too careful. This was Daniel’s house. He would never forgive himself if someone broke in. He returned to the living room and found a boxing match playing on the TV. He settled down to watch.

Daniel came in to the living room in no way ready for patrol. Rorschach made a frustrated noise. “Need to hurry up, Nite Owl. An entire crime spree could happen in the time you’re taking.”

Daniel laughed, sounding relieved. “Sure thing, man. Here, you need to take these. Especially after those cookies, God. I’m just going to have to give up sweet things, aren’t I?” He put five different shaped pills in Rorschach’s gloveless palm. Rorschach wondered where he’d put his gloves while Daniel patiently talked him through the purpose of each pill. He knew he should be listening if he was going to take them but he couldn’t quite understand what Daniel was saying and he knew Daniel wouldn’t drug him. He took the pills obediently, washing them down with the warm milk his partner offered.

As they settled into the couch together a thought occurred to Walter. “Daniel. Any of those pills turn out to be Viagra, I will kill you.”

Daniel roared with laughter. “Man, I think we’re a little old for that!” He wrapped his arm around Walter, tugging him sideways so his head rested against his partner’s chest. “You sure you’re okay? You look done in.”

“Fine Daniel.”

“You’re not coming to book group after all by the way. Adrian’s going to come to, err, hang out with you. And the week after that it’ll probably be Laurie but I’ll remind you nearer the time. Do you mind if we watch something else tonight? I’ve seen this one a lot this week.”

Rorschach realised there was a boxing match on. He was sure he hadn’t watched boxing on TV for years so it was with great reluctance that he replied, “Watch what you like, Daniel.”

Daniel picked up a cordless phone and pointed it at the TV. An array of little pictures of all the things they could be watching popped up. “New Television, Daniel? Very high tech. Very decadent.”

“Not really; they’re all like this these days. Here.”

Gene Tierney filled the screen, prowling the streets in search of the killer of the girl he’d failed to save. What was her name? It was important. It was the same name as the movie, he knew that. The movie was too complicated to follow but it was filled with a longing, a sense that things would have been infinitely better if only he’d gotten there just a little sooner. “Blaire…” he murmured. Daniel hastily reached for the remote. For some reason Rorschach thought about how the word _remote_ also meant _far away_.

He felt remote a lot these days. Detached from everyone, the words in his head becoming separate from their meanings.

“Okay, not that one tonight.” Daniel frowned. “Let’s try this.” He flicked through a few images of all the different programmes they could be watching.

“Very modern television, Daniel. Very decadent.”

“I know, buddy. Here we go.”

A brightly coloured little bird appeared on the screen, dancing from foot to foot on the floor of a distant jungle. A remote jungle. It was trying to appeal to a dowdy, unimpressed looking female. Daniel had once told him that many birds mated for life, not that Rorschach could think of any particular examples night now. This little hopping dance seemed a flimsy basis for a lifetime’s commitment.

Rorschach shifted on the couch, his limbs aching with exhaustion. It had been a long patrol. Someone moved beside him and for a brief, horrible moment he couldn’t understand where he was or who was with him but then he processed the scent of the person beside him – machine oil, Nostalgia, ink and a very particular brand of soap that he couldn’t think of the name of but knew very well. Daniel.

“Buddy? You okay?”

“Fine, Daniel.”

“You need to put this on by the way.” Daniel was holding something out to him with the air of someone trying to be casual while really braced for a fight. And no wonder because what he was holding was a bracelet. Rorschach would have hoped that Daniel had known by now that he wasn’t a jewellery wearing type of man. Still it would be rude to refuse a gift so he accepted it with a grunt and put it on. Possibly he’d be able to lose it during their next patrol. Daniel smiled at him. “That’s it. Maybe I should get you a necklace instead? It might not bother you so much.”

“Hurm. Could put necklace to use as a weapon more easily. Much more useful on patrol.”

“Or, on second thoughts, we could stick with the bracelet. Hey, did you remember about Anna and the kids coming over tomorrow?”

At that moment, Rorschach couldn’t quite remember who Anna was, let alone that she was coming over tomorrow. It must have shown on his face because Daniel prompted gently, “My cousin’s daughter, Anna? And her children? I can show you some photos if you like.”

Rorschach remembered now. Daniel had made an effort to “reconnect” with his extended family in his old age and the lasting legacy had been monthly visits from Anna and her children. Rorschach couldn’t remember the children’s names or faces but there was a lingering impression of a sort of glorious chaos. “Remember, Daniel.”

“Good. The baby will have grown. Oh, and she said you’re not to give Jake any more lock picking lessons; once was quite enough apparently.”

“Enk. Wouldn’t teach a child to pick locks, Daniel.”

“Well, you say that.” Daniel ruffled Walter’s hair, provoking a scowl and added, “I’m sure it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

A little brown bird took flight from the window sill, leaving her colourful suitor to look for a new match. “Owls!” Rorschach exclaimed triumphantly.

Daniel blinked at him. “Err, actually, they’re Birds of Paradise, buddy.”

“No Daniel – _owls_. Remember now. They mate for life.” It had seemed important when he thought it.

Daniel smiled and pulled him closer, pressing his face into his hair. “You know I love you, don’t you Walter?”

“Know that Daniel.” Rorschach knew that wasn’t quite right – there was something else he was meant to say, something he was meant to say back to Daniel, but it was fading. Instead he cherished Daniel’s words even as they seeped from his mind, and pressed himself against his partner’s body. Safely wreathed in Daniel’s scent, he allowed himself to drift into sleep.


End file.
